The need to have one's hands free for other tasks, such as writing, while conversing on the telephone has led to the design of various devices that facilitate cradling the telephone/receiver between the shoulder and ear. In the context of land line phones, such cradles have tended to be rather bulky, since portability is not a major feature of these phones. But as applied to wireless telephones, and particularly smartphones, a shoulder cradle must be compact so as not to compromise the portability of the phone. The object of the present invention is to provide a shoulder cradle that unfolds when not in use to form the cover of a protective case so as not to add to the bulk of the phone.